The castaways in Lost, Lord Of The Flies, Yellowjackets, and the rest had it easy: At least they didn’t have to build their new island societies with the pompous boss who called them out on their “noxious odors” just a few days earlier. The same can’t be said of Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams), one of only two plane crash survivors in Sam Raimi‘s latest thriller, Send Help. The other, as you probably already guessed, is her employer Bradley Preston, played with appropriately off-putting swagger by Dylan O’Brien. But while most of us in Linda’s position would likely be the ones calling for help out of this literal nightmare scenario, Linda sees only opportunity.
As it turns out, Linda is actually quite good at the game of tropical survival. She builds a shelter Survivor players would give their left arm for in a matter of days and finds out she really enjoys hunting, which she tells a horrified Bradley as she throws a bloody boar’s head at his feet. Better yet, they’re “not in the office anymore” and, at least in Linda’s estimation, “No help is coming.” It’s a perfect chance for her to give herself a little promotion. “You are stuck with an asshole boss, just like I was,” she tells her new subordinate. “Although I’m betting I’m a much nicer boss than you ever would have been.”
Sam Raimi fans also needed to be sent a little help to deal with the excitement when this film was announced. It’s not just the genre legend’s first non-Marvel feature in over a decade (since 2013’s Oz The Great And Powerful), but an entirely original film based on no existing IP. “I found the two lead characters, Linda and Bradley, to be complex, human, and constantly at odds with each other in often conflicting situations,” Raimi recently told Entertainment Weeklyof the Damian Shannon and Mark Swift-penned script. “The pitch was outrageous and original, all the while tracking these two in their conflict as their power dynamic changed dramatically. I knew right away that I wanted to direct this picture.” Send Help sends out its first S.O.S. call January 30 in theaters.
